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Are you protected? Josephine Tasker of AMD SOLICITORS considers how you can protect your property against fraud.
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illions of pounds are lost each year to property fraud in the UK, which unfortunately is a serious ongoing issue with fraudsters continuing to target property owners, regardless of whether owners are individuals or companies, and leaving you to deal with the consequences. The most common types of frauds are typically where criminals steal a property owner’s identity and then attempt to sell or mortgage their property by pretending to be them. In particular, fraudsters are more likely to target properties where: • the property is rented out • the property is empty • the property is not mortgaged • the property is not registered with HM Land Registry • you live oversees T protect your To property, place a restriction on it. Y You can instruct our conveyancing team to
put a restriction on your title. If you have a property which you rent out, a second home or live somewhere else for all or part of the year, you should consider registering a restriction against the property. The benefit of taking this additional step means it will prevent the Land Registry registering any sale or mortgage on your property unless a conveyancer or solicitor certifies that the application was made by you.
THE LAND REGISTRY’S FREE PROPERTY ALERT SERVICE The Land Registry offers a free property alert service for properties registered in England and Wales. This is an essential tool that should be considered by anyone wishing to take steps to protect a registered property from risk of fraud. To sign up, all you need to provide is a valid email address and the postcode or title number of the property(ies) you want HM Land Registry to monitor (can be up to ten properties). Once you have signed up to the service, you will receive email alerts from the Land Registry when certain activity occurs on your monitored properties, allowing you to take swift action if these activities are suspicious. The alert will signpost you to who to contact in this event.
KEEP YOUR CONTACT DETAILS UP TO DATE Please remember to update the Land Registry in writing if your contact details change while you own the property to ensure you receive any
such correspondence. For added peace of mind, the Land Registry can hold up to three contact addresses for you, including an email address and an address abroad.
WHAT IF MY PROPERTY IS UNREGISTERED? If your property is not registered at the Land Registry, you should consider making an application for voluntary first registration because it helps protect against fraud, gives you proof of ownership and makes it easier to buy and sell. If you are unsure whether your property is unregistered or would like to discuss making a voluntary application, our experienced conveyancing team will be able to assist you. If you would like any advice or assistance in connection with the above, please get in touch by emailing info@amdsolicitors.com, or calling our conveyancing team on 0117 973 5647. Our ever popular talks will be returning in spring 2020 watch this space for more details ■
Call into one of our four Bristol offices. 100 Henleaze Road, Henleaze, BS9 4JZ 15 The Mall, Clifton BS8 4DS 139 Whiteladies Road, Clifton, BS8 2PL 2 Station Road, Shirehampton BS11 9TT